The PlayStation 3 was not built for social games. Plain and simple. If you're playing MAG and then want to talk to your niece, who is playing LEGO Harry Potter, you'll have to exit your game, she'll have to exit hers, and you'll both have to enter a communal space so you can use the voice chat feature. That's not fun. And of course, if you and said hypothetical niece have a competition going about who can get the most trophies in Ratchet and Clank: A Crack in Time, you'll have to select her name, and then wait the 4.5 billion years it takes for the trophy system to sync both of your trophies before you can compare and contrast. Though the PlayStation Eye is the exception to the poor social offerings, and is a great way to webcam straight from the PS3 dashboard, if you want to play games, and then check out what your friends are playing, and then maybe strike up a conversation with them, you'll have to jump through some serious hoops to do so. And even though I might love my hypothetical niece, after waiting for updates and trophy synchs and mandatory installs, the last thing I want to do is waste any more time not playing a game on my PlayStation 3.

1. Homebrew And Hacking Are Your Favorite Pastimes

Look, if you like creating your own software or "modding" your console, Sony already hates you. Though piracy is an issue across all consoles, Sony has taken the most radical stance against it and is severely punishing anyone who plays games on systems that have been altered or use non-Sony approved software. Of course, you can argue about how "legal" the activities of hackers and modders are, but no matter what your intentions are, Sony won't stand for it, and you could find yourself at the receiving end of a banned PSN ID, bricked console, or, in the case of George Hotz, a nasty lawsuit. If you like modding consoles, you really need to stay away from the PS3. In fact, you should stop reading this article and never think about the console again. Sony's watching you.

The PlayStation 3 is a great console overall, and certainly benefits from being the only Blu-Ray equipped console around (hooray for pure HD!) However, just because the picture is pretty doesn't mean it's right for you, and there are plenty of reasons why you shouldn't buy a PlayStation 3.

Of course, home consoles aren't the only thing you shouldn't buy. Check back next week for more reasons why you should keep your hard-earned money instead of buying the latest and greatest.

By Amanda L. KondolojyCCC
Senior Contributing Writer

*The views expressed within this article are solely the opinion of the author and do not express the views held by Cheat Code Central.*